The upcoming flankerL'Ambre des Merveilles (Amber of the Marvels) by Hermès taps into the mythology surrounding the word amber says perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena. For him who once pointedly stated how adverse to the material vanilla he personally is, this is yet another opportunity to offer his own interpretation of an ingredient always in danger of becoming too obvious or too stifling, especially for one of the contemporary masters of purified effects in perfumery. Giving away the fact that the association of vanilla and labdanum is probably at the core of his new opus on amber, we can hope to follow him in one of his warmer moods. For now, we are invited to day-dream and guess at the composition by gazing at the perfume flacon reworked for the occasion.

While we detain the new flacon and its jus, we would not forgo that essential stage in perfume appreciation: expectation, anticipation, imaginings that find echoes in the perfume, or not...

- Is it to conjure up this imaginary universe that the famous perfume bottle has evolved?

- Yes, for L'Ambre, the famous "culbuto" flacon from the Merveilles series turns into something even more precious, more mysterious. It is now adorned with a large golden ring which encircles its width coming to underline the magnifying-glass effect of the glass ball as well as glorify the shower of stars on its front.

The shooting stars, shower of stars is a recurring theme that accompanies the Merveilles perfumes as in Eau Claire des Merveilles where it can even be felt within the composition.

For a previous, more central interpretation of vanilla, see Vanille Galante